December Events

On December 17th, Aaron and I celebrated our 11th anniversary.   We went down that night and dropped the kids off with my parents, who took them all to grandma's Christmas party.  (It seems like every year, because we were married the week before Christmas, there is always something going on.   Last year we didn't do anything for our anniversary so this year we wanted to do something extra nice.)  

We decided to go to THE ROOF,  the restaurant at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial building.   We had a beautiful view of the temple from our table, and it was a delicious buffet.  We have never been there before and really enjoyed it.   We had a nice evening together.  We walked around temple square for a few minutes (it was freezing cold!) and then headed back to my parent's house.   

Come to find out while we were gone, Jared cried for over 2 hours straight, which is so unlike him.  I felt so bad.  I am thankful to my parents for letting us get out for a nice evening.   I hope they know we appreciate it.  I am thankful for eleven wonderful years with my amazing husband.   Marriage is so good when you both give everything to eachother and make your relationship a priority.  He is my best friend and I look forward to many more years together.   

 The next day we spent at my parents' house.  In the morning Aaron and I did some last minute shopping and went out to lunch with my brother Nathan and his wife Jordan.  They are a lot of fun to be with.   Mom and dad took our three older kids to the Dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving point and they absolutely LOVED it!!   They love spending time with their grandkids and I know the kids love it, too.  I am thankful my parents make such an effort to spend time with our kids.

That night, we had a special dinner,  our "last supper" together, before mom and dad would leave.  We made the traditional German favorite meal- Rouladin, Glaze, and Rotkohl, and it was delicious!!   We had a little devotional where we talked about Christmas memories and shared spiritual thoughts.  Then the kids opened a few gifts.   It was a great night together.    The following Tuesday, my parents flew out to Vietnam for their 18 month mission.   We will miss them a lot.  It was hard to say goodbye, but not so hard in another way because I know it will go by fast and they will be on the Lord's errand.   I'm proud of you mom and dad, and excited for this opportunity for you!

A time of Thanksgiving

The month of November was a busy one for the Michels.  My parents were getting ready to leave on their mission.   We went down for their farewell the weekend of Nov 21st and came back Sunday night.  It was a great day- nice to see so many extended family there.  I enjoyed listening to my parents' talks and felt the spirit in the meeting.  I am so excited for them and hope it is a great experience for them.  

Me and my mom 

My dad on the right with his friend Mike

          Later that week we celebrated Thanksgiving with them.  We enjoyed a nice meal together with my parents and siblings and also both sets of my grandparents.    I am so grateful for the blessing of such wonderful family.  I hope my siblings and also my parents know how much I love them!  

Opa reading to the grandkids (and Jeremy)

 Thanksgiving day we got to go out with the horses and pull the kids on a sled  behind them on the roads behind the houses in the neighborhood by my parents' house.  This is something we did almost every year on Christmas day when I was growing up so it brought back a lot of memories for me.  The kids had a blast being pulled on the sled.  (I prefer to stay on the horse :)

The day after Thanksgiving we went out again, this time with my mom and we took all 3 horses.  We rode down to the gully and pulled the kids on the sleds at different spots.  I think that was the highlight of my weekend down there. There's nothing like a good horseback ride for me.  I am thankful to Aaron for staying back with the baby while I got to have some fun with my family.  It will be a good memory for  me.

Getting ready for a fun ride with the horses.

That weekend Aaron and I also took the opportunity to record a few of our grandparents' life histories as they spoke to us.  We were especially grateful to have the chance to listen to his grandma and grandpa Christensen for many hours.  His grandma has grown quite frail with alzheimers and has a hard time expressing herself at this point.  But, we are thankful for what she was able to share.  We are starting to feel the urgency in learning all we can from our grandparents before they are gone.   We feel very strongly that this is the most important family history we can do at this time.  We are so thankful for wonderful grandparents who have lived faithful lives and set such valiant examples for us to follow.  

Grandma and Grandpa Christensen with their great-grandchildren

Uncle Ryan holding Jared

Is there anything sweeter than holding a sleeping baby?   

          I am grateful for this thanksgiving season when we have a chance to reflect upon all we've been given.  I am truly thankful for all of my many blessings, among which are family and friends, the blessing of being alive at this time with so many opportunities, to be a mother of 4 wonderful children, to have such a great husband and best friend, and to have the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.  Life is so good!

Kyle's 5th Birthday

Opening presents at 6:30 am on Kyle's birthday.   (Showing off his new remote- control car from grandma).

On November 10th, Kyle celebrated his 5th birthday.  It was actually more like "birthday week" for him, though, because we were celebrating it almost every day.  On Monday, for family home evening we went bowling for our activity, which was Kyle's choice, and kind-of for his birthday.  Tuesday I went to Kyle's preschool with him and brought cookies for his class and they sang to him.  He got to be the "helper" and wear a special birthday hat.   Wednesday was his actual birthday and we sang to him in the morning.  Daddy got up extra early and made everyone french toast, which was Kyle's choice for breakfast.   He also chose spaghetti for dinner that night.

Erika quizzing my parents with flashcards on their Vietnamese

Heidi and my Opa have a special bond.  
She loves to cuddle up to him. 

Erika with her great-Oma Erika

Later that evening, Oma and Opa Michel came to visit, as well as "great-Oma and great-Opa" (my dad's parents).   They stayed for dinner and played with the kids.    My parents have accepted a call to serve a mission in Vietnam.   They put their papers in this year and many of us were expecting them to be called to Germany or someplace similar where they both speak fluent German and were born there.   So, the call to Vietnam came as a surprise for most of us.  It is actually part of the Cambodia mission.

It is a welfare mission (no proselyting) and they are 2 of 8 missionaries in the entire country.  This will be  a challenge and adventure for them.  We will miss them a lot, but we are also so proud of them and thankful for the example they have set for us of service and obedience to the Lord's will.

Kyle trying out his new fishing gear he got from his Opa.  
He  just can't wait until he can go fishing with it!!

On Thursday we had a birthday party for Kyle with a bunch of neighbor friends.  I have found age 5 to be a fun age to do a party because the kids have made a few friends from the neighborhood and they get so excited about the smallest things.  It was a lot of fun!   We played a few simple games-  pin the nose on the clown, musical chairs, bingo, a pinata, and we also had cake and presents.  I love it because you don't have to do a whole lot and the kids have fun.  

Go, Erika!  She is really getting into it!

The birthday boy trying to hit the pinata.

I made Kyle a "Mater" cake, which is what he requested.  It was a little
tricky, and I only had limited time to do it, but it turned out okay.   

Blowing out his candle

We sure love our little boy!  He is growing up so fast and so much fun.  It is fun to watch him learn and make new friends.  He loves life and brings so much joy to our family.  

Halloween 2010

At Erika's school with some of her friends for the Halloween parade.  

All the kids getting ready to go trick-or-treating

We had a fun Halloween this year.   I took it a little easier on the costumes this year.  All I really had to make was the wig for Erika's costume.  She was "Jessie" from Toy Story.  Heidi wore the giraffe costume that Erika wore a long time ago, Jared wore the classic hot pepper costume Heidi wore 3 years ago, and Kyle, well, he just wore his pajamas  :)   I am not afraid to recycle!

Erika as Jessie from Toy Story

Kyle was Superman

What a cute little hot pepper!

We have a great neighborhood for trick-or-treating so that's what we do every year.  We go from house to house where there are a lot of good people we can trust.  We LOVE our neighborhood!!!  There are lots of young families with children.   We also enjoy all the kids who come in their costumes.

     Oma and Opa came up tonight to spend Halloween with the kids and go around the neighborhood.   The next day at church was our primary program, which I was leading the music for so they also got to be there for that.   We were so glad to have them come!!

 Heidi looks like she doesn't have a clue, but really, out of all the kids she was
 the most excited about trick-or-treating and candy and didn't want to stop!

School Days

August 28th was the big day for Erika.  She started 2nd grade.  She was really excited about school, but this was the first year she was also a little sad.  She had a fun summer this year and realized how nice summer can be.  She likes her new teacher and class this year.  One of her best friends last year isn't in her class, but she does pretty well adjusting and making new friends wherever she is.

Erika and her two friends Braxton and Lillie

Kyle started preschool for the 2nd year on Sept 1st.  He is in a different preschool with Mrs. Francom in Elwood, the same teacher Erika had 3 years ago.  He is really liking preschool and actually surprising us with his excitement for learning.  During the last 2 months, he has really picked up quickly on his letters and numbers and is writing a lot.  I am glad he will have this whole year to prepare for kindergarten.

Look at how small she looks in front of the school!

Heidi started preschool at the Early Learning Center in Corinne Sept 1st.  It was with mixed emotion that I dropped her off there.  She still seems so young to be going to preschool!!   Technically, she is only one year behind Kyle in school because they are only 18 months apart.  But, she has been behind Kyle in development and just doesn't seem ready.  I guess that's why she is going to this particular preschool where she qualifies for early intervention for kids who are behind developmentally.  They have a good program there and I was excited to have her start.  She has been my little buddy at home, though, and I would miss that.  She has been going to the center for 2 months now and I have been really pleased with her progress.  In the last month, she has started talking like crazy and expressing herself so much more!   We have all noticed a change.   I hope she continues to progress throughout the year.

Another nice thing about the Developmental preschool is that they have a bus pick her up and drop her off!    Heidi LOVES the bus.  When she is getting ready to go to school, she puts on her backpack and says "Bus, mom.  Go to school."  (Over and over and over...)

 

It has been nice for me to have some "quiet time" on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon when Heidi and Kyle are both at preschool at the same time.  It was weird the first day driving home with just me and Jared (But it was easy to get used to :)   During this "quiet time" I have been able to go to Erika and Kyle's schools and help out, which has also been a nice thing.  I am hoping to be a little more informed and involved in their schooling this year.

Our trip to Oregon

From August 17-22nd we took a trip up to Oregon to visit Aaron's brother and his family.  It was a lot of fun!  It was a long drive (about 12 hrs) so the first and last day were spent just driving. 

The first day, we went to the Oregon coast where we saw the Astoria column.  From the top, we enjoyed an amazing view of the Columbia River where you could see over to Washington.  It was so beautiful!  This is one of the places where Lewis and Clark explored along with many others.  

Enjoying the beautiful view of the Columbia River.
(The picture doesn't do it justice.)

We couldn't miss stopping to see the sea-lions out by the dock.   They are big and smelly but fun to watch!

After that, we headed to the beach where we enjoyed fairly nice weather.  We had to wear jackets and the water was really cold, but the skies were blue and it was beautiful!  Kyle had fun flying a "Lightning McQueen" kite.  

Amber and Tara catching the sun with their babes.  (Seaside beach)

We also went over to Canon Beach where we saw "Haystack Rock".  It was just a beautiful day!!

Aaron and Dave at Haystack Rock

At Canon Beach, we saw a few jellyfish that hat washed up onto  the shore.    This kind of spooked the kids a little as they didn't want to step on them.  They had a lot of fun splashing in the water and running from the waves. 

The next day, Friday,  after a round of golf for the guys, we had the chance to go berry-picking, which was a the top of the list for me.  I LOVE berries, and dream of having fields of them!!   We also realized why they cost so much- it is tedious work to pick them.  They were already pretty picked-over as we were late in the season there, but we still got a lot.  Aaron must really love me, because while I sat and nursed the baby in the shade, he continued to pick more berries for me so we could get alot.  I came home and made a bunch of my homemade raspberry jam.  

Heidi and Lincoln on the tire swing at the berry farm.  

 Friday night we went to the air show in Hillsboro which was simply amazing!!  We watched huge fighter planes take off.  It was pretty impressive to FEEL the power from yards away as they flew by.   Then we watched some stunt pilots do some amazing tricks.  There were planes all lit up in the night sky, some with fireworks coming out of their wings.  It was really cool!

Yes, that really is a person STANDING on top of the plane as it is flying!!

Kyle and Erika had fun with the ear-muffs that were supposed to be used to protect their ears from the noise. 

Saturday we visited the college where Dave goes to school.  It was neat to see where he spends a lot of his time.    Not too much longer and he will be practicing as an optometrist.  We are so excited for him!

We also went to the Portland Rose garden which was so beautiful!!  It reminded me a little of Alice in Wonderland for some reason.  It was a huge garden full of the most beautiful roses we'd ever seen, all types and colors.  We tried to get a good picture of our family here but it was a little tricky.  :)

On Sunday before church, I got a picture of Jared and Benson chillin'.  They are only a month apart and already have so much in common!  Two little cuties, with so much to talk about.

The kids also had a great time swimming in the pool at the hotel and playing at the park.  We are so grateful to Dave and Tara for showing us around and letting us spend time with them.  We had a wonderful time.

After church, we headed home.  To break up the drive, we stopped on the way at the Minnetonka falls, which is just right off the freeway.  It is a really pretty waterfall that is very, very long.  You can only see a small part in the picture.